Puerto Lopez Ecuador: Five severed heads found hanging from ropes on busy tourist beach next to warning sign
Five severed human heads have been found on a popular tourist beach in Ecuador.
Police discovered the heads hanging from ropes fixed to wooden poles on a busy tourist beach in Puerto Lopez. Police said the grim act was likely carried out by a criminal group who operate in the region as a direct threat to a rival gang.
Drug-trafficking networks often use local fishermen and their small boats to help transport drugs, according to authorities. Images showed the heads were placed next to a warning sign directed at the alleged blackmailers of the fishermen, police believe.
Fighting among drug trafficking gangs has dramatically worsened in recent months as they feud over territory and control of the Manabi province. A state of emergency is already in force across nine of Ecuador’s 24 provinces, including Manabi.
Police have ramped up control and surveillance operations in Puerto Lopez after the severed heads were found. 2025 marked Ecuador’s most violent year on record after more than 9,000 murders were reported, according to official figures.
Bordering Peru and Colombia, Ecuador is perfectly positioned to facilitate the flow of drugs onwards towards North America and Europe. Many of the drug gangs were previously small players, but since 2020, cartels have ruthlessly expanded their numbers, breaking inmates out of prisons and forcing others to do their bidding or face death.
According to the country’s coastguard, 90 per cent of the illicit trade leaves via the port of Guayaquil. As a result, the city has become the epicentre of the battleground between rival drug trafficking gangs and the armed forces, and the final resting place of hundreds of victims.